Tag: weight watchers

Wellness Wednesday: My Weight Watchers Results

 

Welp…my Weight Watchers session came to a lackluster end last week.

4.4 lb total lost

Nothing to write about but I’m encouraged enough to give it another try. Why? Because I’m no quitter! I can and will lose this stubborn 20 lbs.

Don’t worry. I’m not beating myself up too much for my little 4.4 lbs. After all, it’s better than I did 5 yrs ago when I tried Weight Watchers when I was only trying to lose 10-15 lbs. If memory serves me correctly, those end results were like a 1-1.5lbs.

But you can’t attain a goal without a strategy. Here’s mine:

  1. Renu Herbs Detox Trio- After listening to Gospel sensation Yolanda Adams rave about the results of Robin Anthony’s Detox Trio body cleanse products for the last few years, I finally did the tax-refund-thing-to-do and splurged on some products. I’ve been wanting to do a detox for quite some time but have been put off by some of the requirements like…not eating. I don’t do well with plans that don’t include eating throughout the day. However, with this detox trio,  I do have to eat as clean as possible and for the last couple of days I’ve been doing okay.
  2. Weekly weigh in WITHOUT looking at the results. Sounds like it defeats the purpose, right? Well, my experience with Weight Watchers was every week that I lost, I followed with a small decrease the following week. SMH for real. On our group’s Facebook page one member posted that she didn’t look at her results until the end of the 12 weeks. And she lost a whopping 14lbs! Maybe that method will work for me. In fact, when I’d lost weight in the past, I did it without weighing myself weekly, preferring a bi-weekly schedule.
  3. Making small changes  week at a time. Right now I’m working on not eating after 7pm. Also, at work, I’m drinking a 1/2 cup of coffee instead a full. Future plans include reducing beef to once a week, increasing fish, and going totally organic for fruits and veggies. The cleanse is helping me with that.
Our next session starts next week and I’m confident that I’ll have already lost 2-3 lbs from our last weigh in with the small changes I’ve already made. Plus the cleanse. I feel it working!
No worries. I’ll keep you posted. If you have any suggestions for small changes I can make, post them in the comments below. Share your progress or struggles, too. We can help each other.
Til next time,
L.A.

Wellness Wednesday: Creating Meaningful Fitness Goals

My husband and I have a bad habit of falling asleep with our television on. He has a bad habit of putting it on a news channel. Why is this a problem? Mainly because I don’t want to be awakened to stories of carjackings, fatal car accidents, and senseless murders. The other morning this is exactly what roused me out of slumber sleep. I called out the name of Jesus for mercy on the world we live in, and then I immediately began questioning why I was stressing myself over the numbers on the scale. Blaming my previous day’s activity–eating an entire row of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies after lunch–for why I’ve been stuck on this roller coaster of gaining and losing 1.5 lbs.

roller coaster

When this life is over will those numbers matter in the least? Certainly not to those who love me. Heck!  Not even to those who don’t.

Still I longed to condone my over indulgence in sugar and carbs.

“It’s nothing wrong with eating a row of Girl Scout cookies in less than ten minutes. You only eat them at this time of the year.” I told myself the same thing I say every year around this time.

“Gaining weight is a fact of life. It’s not your fault that your metabolism is slowing down. How much you weigh has no bearing on the impact of your life in the world at large. Plus, you still have a cute shape that many women would love to have.” 

Sure, the above statements bear some truth. But the whole truth is that while I am living this life, I want to look and feel my best. And that really does go beyond the numbers on the scale. So while I do have a number that I’d like to see at the end of my weight watcher’s journey, I have some long-term goals that far outweigh that number.

I want to look 40 when I’m 60 and 60 when I’m 100.

I want to master hula hooping tricks because it’s fun and looks awesome. Guess I’ll have to keep going to hula hoop class and burn those 300+ calories an hour.

I want to get out of the bed every morning without achiness which means I have to work my body for strength, endurance, and flexibility.

I want to be able to choose from a larger selection of swimsuits.

I want to participate in “ride your bike to work” day every year. At the very least, I want to be riding my bike at 60 yrs old like my dad.

These are just a few non-weight related goals for me. What are yours? Share them in the comments below.

Til Next Time,

Naturally L.A.

 

Wellness  Wednesday(Thursday)–Setting Goals & Managing Expectations

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Haha…thought I wasn’t going to give you my week 3 weight watchers update??? I know you’ve been sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for it.

Down 2.6 lbs!!! Pretty awesome, right? I’d say so, especially considering I didn’t starve myself or ramp up my exercise regimen. Not only that…but I ate pizza all weekend before the weigh-in, although I didn’t overdo it. So what do I think attributed to this weight loss? Honestly, increased water consumption. The day before and the day of the weigh-in, I consumed every bit of the recommended 1/2 my body weight in ounces of water. Prior to that, I was dinking water everyday but not keeping track of how much. Plus, once I got home, I was usually done for the day. This water bottle solved that problem.

water bottle

And I know for sure that before I wasn’t getting the proper amount because with this bottle I have to start drinking pretty much when I get home and usually need the 16 oz when I get home. Today marks day 5 since I’ve been getting the amount that I need–okay, I missed one day of the entire amount but still…you get the point.

The best thing about my weight loss for this week is that it helped me achieve my January goal! I don’t want to get too personal with y’all–not yet anyway :)–but my goal was to lose 3 lbs this month. “Why not five? Why not ten?” You may want to know.

I wanted to be reasonable with myself. I’m not brand new to this program so I knew that it was a likely possibility that I was going to gain in between the first and the last weigh-in for January. Some might say I set myself up for failure but I say the opposite. The overall goal is to lose weight. How much I lose is up to me and what I’m willing to do to make it happen.

Life is really hectic right now. My husband has a chronic illness and I’m needed at home for physical and emotional support. So I’m not in a place where I can schedule 3-4 days in the gym. Honestly, I don’t even want to. The last thing I want to do is start a workout program that I’m not going to commit to long-term because that leads to weight gain once that activity stops.

It’s important to set goals and manage expectations according to your own lifestyle and preferences. What someone else is willing or able to do may not work for you or be what you want to do. For example, a friend of mine participates in a very intense workout program. The kind that makes you say, “Arrgh!”

intense expression

Nope, not for me! LOL! I’m more interested in…

yoga

My focus is on the 80% of that 80/20 makeup we hear so much about regarding weight loss (80% food, 20% exercise). Time for exercise fluctuates over time, depending on what’s going on in life, but eating is continuous. If I can get that under control, I’ll hit my ultimate goal in due time, which may not be during this 12 wk weight watchers program.

And I’m okay with that. I increased my desired weigh loss for this month by a couple of pounds and I can’t wait to achieve it on February 29th. Stay tuned for updates.

Naturally Yours,

L.A.